Monday, 2 December 2013

A brief footnote to the sad story of one of my favourite locals, the Alma on Newington Green.

The Alma is now being offered up as a new tenancy, with applications closing this week. I was impressed by the level of detail on the website for prospective tenants - every aspect a curious publican might want to know about is covered. There's even a guide to local competition - clearly a key factor in how the business might perform. So it's great to see the website giving a run-down on what else is in the area so interested parties can accurately assess the opportunity:

Screen grab from Enterprise's website about the Alma tenancy

There's just one problem with this. No, actually, there are quite a few:

In 2011, the Nobody Inn was renamed the Clarendon. In 2012 it has a massive refit, substantially changing its offering, and was renamed the Dissenting Academy.

There's no such pub as the Crafty Fox in the area. They might mean the Snooty Fox. But you can't be too hard on them for getting the name of the pub wrong; it's not as if they own it or anything. Oh, hang on - yes they do.

There's no mention of the Hops & Glory (formerly the George Orwell) or the Leconfield (formerly the Oak Bar) - two craft beer pubs that offer significant competition to the Alma, each less than five minutes walk away. But you can't be too hard on them for not knowing these pubs exist; it's not as if they own them or anything. Oh, hang on - yes they do own the Leconfield.

It's great to see Enterprise's local area manager having such a great grasp on the area he is paid to look after.

Never mind the competition - how about they give a full and frank reason for the failure of the previous licensee and some indication of the possible earnings potential which shows the fixed outgoings factoring in of course the cost of the wet and dry rent over 12 months including staff costs and expected hours to be worked by the licensee to achieve a minimum wage.

Most tied tenants are on tax credits or sub national minimum wage, this is not maee up stats but from government research CGA strategy. Shockingly majority of pubs with £500,000 turnover earn under £15, 000 if that's any indication of just how hard you are going to be just to match part time Mcdonald's reward level income!

Oh indeed Lars. I don't believe there is anything sinister of deliberate about this. You've got to be pretty far gone to see this as evidence of a conspiracy against potential tenants. But one of the reasons PubCo tenants pay so much over the odds for the price of their beer so that in return they get top class business support. This is an example of that support.

I'm standing at the bar of the Brown Bear Inn in Berwick-upon-Tweed. Ex Enterprise Inns, run into the ground and freehold sold at auction in July 2016 to a local business man. Now the pub's coming to the end of a people powered refurbishment and due to reopen, as a completely free of 'traditional brewery or pubco ties' on Thursday 8th December.

It's going to be completely people focused, sell local and regional ales and ciders and be a showcase for the wonderful produce of the England Scotland borders region... Let's see what happens to a pub when it's outside of the protection of the pubco hegemony